Fiji

Culture Name

Fijian

Orientation

Identification.
The Republic of the Fiji Islands is a multicultural island nation with
cultural traditions of Oceanic, European, South Asian, and East Asian
origins. Immigrants have accepted several aspects of the indigenous
culture, but a national culture has not evolved. Commercial, settler,
missionary, and British colonial interests imposed Western ideologies and
infrastructures on the native peoples and Asian immigrants that
facilitated the operation of a British crown colony.

The indigenous name of the islands is Viti, an Austronesian word meaning
"east" or "sunrise." Ethnic Fijians call
themselves
Kai Viti
("the people of Viti") or
i Taukei
("the owners of the land"). Until the advent of colonial
rule in 1873, the population of Viti Levu, the principal island of the
Fiji group, was divided into hierarchically organized coastal peoples and
more egalitarian highland peoples in the interior.

People from different parts of India, now called Indo-Fijians, came to
work as indentured laborers on sugar plantations. After their term of
service, many remained in Fiji. Some became merchants and business-people,
others remained on the land as free peasant cultivators. The early
immigrants were joined later by freely-migrating people from
India's merchant castes, mostly from Gujarat. European immigrants
came primarily from Australia, New Zealand, and Great Britain.

Location and Geography.
The republic includes approximately 320 islands, but only about one
hundred are inhabited. The land area is 7,055 square miles (18,272 square
kilometers); Viti Levu and Vanua Levu account for 87 percent of the
landmass. Viti Levu contains the major seaports, airports, roads, schools,
and tourist centers, as well as the capital, Suva.

The maritime tropical climate is characterized by high humidity and
rainfall along the windward coasts and a drier climate in the interiors
and along the leeward coasts, where savanna grassland was the natural
vegetation. Much of the original savanna was turned into sugarcane
plantations during the colonial period.

Demography.
In 1996, the population was 775,077. Fifty-one percent of the population
is Fijian, and 44 percent is Indo-Fijian. In the nineteenth century,
epidemic diseases decimated the indigenous population, and the arrival of
South Asian workers beginning in 1879 caused Fijians to become temporarily
a minority in the islands from the late 1930s to the late 1980s. There are
small populations of Europeans, Pacific Islanders, Rotumans, Chinese, and
persons of mixed European-Fijian ancestry.

Linguistic Affiliation.
Fijian, Hindi, and English became the official languages after
independence in 1970, and linguistic autonomy was guaranteed by the
constitution of 1997. English is the language of interethnic
communication, administration, government, trade and commerce, and
education. Fijian and Hindi often are spoken at home and are used in
religious contexts and on radio and television.

The indigenous languages belong to the Central Oceanic branch of Eastern
Austronesian and are divided into eastern and western branches. The Bauan
dialect of Fijian was used by Christian missionaries and subsequently
became "standard Fijian." The Euro-Fijian community tends to
be bilingual, particularly among the educated classes. Fijian Hindi is
related to several Hindi-related North Indian languages, and the Chinese
community is primarily Cantonese-speaking.

Symbolism.
The national flag includes the British Union Jack and Fiji's coat
of arms, which still bears

Fiji

British national symbols and, in Fijian, the motto "Fear God and
Honor the Monarch." Three of the quadrants of the shield on the
coat of arms depict sugarcane, the coconut palm, and bananas, and the
fourth quadrant shows a dove of peace. The national anthem is based on a
Fijian hymn, but the words are in English. Government offices, police and
military uniforms still display the British crown, while the currency (the
Fijian dollar) continues to bear a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

History and Ethnic Relations

Emergence of the Nation.
Indigenous Fijians are descended from the Lapita peoples, a seafaring
group from eastern Indonesia or the Philippines who probably arrived in
the Fiji Islands during the second millennium
B.C.E.
and later interbred first with Melanesians from the west and subsequently
with Polynesians (also Lapita descendants) from the east. Before European
contact, Fijian social organization featured (as it still does)
patrilineal clans, subclans, and lineages, and by the nineteenth century
there were forty chiefdoms, twelve of which dominated the political scene.

During the nineteenth century there was an influx of European
beachcombers, traders, planters, and missionaries. The planters and
traders soon attempted to set up a colony on the model of those of
Australia and New Zealand. The indigenous chiefs, backed by European
settler interests, established several confederated forms of government,
the last of which, the United Kingdom of Fiji, represented an attempt at
forming a modern independent multi-ethnic state. Many of the
administrative arrangements of the kingdom were subsequently accepted by
the British colonial administration. After an initial refusal, in 1874
Great Britain accepted an offer of cession from the self-styled
"king of Viti" and other principal Fijian chiefs.

Britain believed that the islands could be economically self-sufficient
through the establishment of sugarcane plantations but did not want to end
the traditional way of life of the Fijians. In 1879, the first boatload of
Indian indentured laborers arrived. In the next forty years, sixty
thousand Indians were shipped to the islands, becoming a class of
exploited plantation workers who lived in a world of violence, cut off
from their cultural roots. Depressed economic conditions in India caused
most of those laborers to remain after their contracts expired, finding
work in agriculture, livestock raising, and small business enterprises.

National Identity.
Common citizenship, multi-ethnic institutions (some schools, colleges,
the police force, civil service, civil aviation authority, etc.), an
English-language mass media that caters to a multi-ethnic clientele,
national sporting teams that attract intense following, and pride in the
beauty and bounty of their oceanic homeland, are some of the factors that
help to create a "Fiji Islands" national identity that
surmounts the otherwise all-important ethnic affiliations.

Ethnic Relations.
The principal ethnic groups— Fijians, Indo-Fijians, and people of
mixed Euro-Fijian descent—intermingle with ease at the work place,
in shops and markets, and in some educational and recreational settings,
but interact much less freely at home. Religion and domestic custom tend
to cause greater division than does language. But political aspiration is
perhaps the greatest divisive factor, with indigenous Fijians demanding
political paramountcy and Indo-Fijians, political equality. Naturalized
European and part-European communities tend to mingle more closely with
ethnic Fijians than with Indo-Fijians.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

Most of Fiji's eighteen urban centers are on the two largest
islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. In the first half of the twentieth
century, urban centers were dominated by South Asians and Europeans, while
Fijians were considered essentially a rural people. Today, however, 40
percent of ethnic Fijians live in cities and towns. These urban areas are
Western rather than Oceanic in appearance, and Suva still retains much of
its distinctively British-style colonial architecture, although Asians
have influenced the nature of the city and all the ethnic groups trade in
the central market. In the colonial period, there was some residential
segregation by ethnicity.

Smaller towns usually have a single main street, with shops on both sides,
that eventually merges with the countryside; some have a few
cross-streets. In most towns the bus station is a center of activity,
lying near the market and itself filled with vendors.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life.
Fijians have adopted chili peppers, unleavened bread, rice, vegetables,
curries, and tea from the Indian population, while Indians have adapted to
eating taro and cassava and drinking kava, a narcotic drink. However, the
diets of the two groups remain noticeably different.

A traditional Fijian meal includes a starch, relishes, and a beverage. The
starch component, which is referred to as "real food," is
usually taro, yams, sweet potatoes, or manioc but may consist of tree
crops such as breadfruit, bananas, and nuts. Because of its ease of
cultivation, manioc has become the most widely consumed root crop.
Relishes include meat, fish and seafood, and leafy vegetables. Canned meat
and fish are also very popular. Vegetables often are boiled in coconut
milk, another dietary staple. Soup is made of fish or vegetables. Water is
the most common beverage, but coconut water and fruit juices also are
drunk. Tea and an infusion of lemon leaves are served hot.

People generally eat three meals a day, but there is much variability in
meal times and snacking is common. Most food is boiled, but some is
broiled, roasted, or fried. Cooked food is served on a tablecloth spread
on the floor mat inside the house. The evening meal, which is usually the
most formal, requires the presence of all the family members and may not
begin without the male head of the household. Men are served first and
receive the best foods and the largest portions. Meals are meant to be

A group of musicians at a Kavo Ceremony. Both sacred and secular
music are popular in Fiji.

shared as an expression of social harmony. Traditional food taboos
relating to totemic animals and plants generally are ignored.

Indo-Fijian meals also include starch and relishes, and men and women eat
separately. The staple tends to be either flatbread made from imported
flour or else locally grown rice. Relishes are primarily vegetarian, but
some meat and fish is consumed when it is available. Many Indo-Fijians
obey religious prohibitions against beef (Hindus) or pork (Muslims). As
with Fijians, most cooking is done by women.

Restaurants, tea shops, kava bars, and food stalls are ubiquitous in the
towns. In the larger towns, Euro-Fijian, French, Indian, Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, and American fast-food restaurants serve a multi-ethnic
clientele of local people, resident expatriates, and tourists.

Food Custom at Ceremonial Occasions.
In a culture of gift giving, feasting on special occasions is a common
practice among ethnic Fijians. The offering of food in substantial
quantities (
magiti
) is an essential aspect of traditional community life. Ceremonial foods
may be offered cooked or raw and often include entire pigs, oxen, or
turtles as well as everyday foods such as canned fish and corned beef. The
offering of ceremonial food often is preceded by the presentation of a
"lead gift" such as whale's teeth, bark cloth, or
kava. Among Indo-Fijians, feasting is associated with marriages and
religious festivals. Kava and alcoholic drinks may be drunk on these
occasions.

Basic Economy.
Most ethnic Fijians who live in villages grow food in gardens where they
may use swidden (slash-and-burn) agricultural techniques. The tourist
industry draws vacationers primarily from Australia, New Zealand, and
North America as well as Japan and Western Europe. Sugar production, begun
in 1862, dominates and now engages over half the workforce. A garment
industry relies on cheap labor, mostly female. The only commercially
valuable mineral is gold, which has declined in importance since 1940,
when it generated 40 percent of export earnings. Commercial agriculture
consists of the production of copra, rice, cocoa, coffee, sorghum, fruits
and vegetables, tobacco, and kava. The livestock and fishing industries
have grown in importance.

Land Tenure and Property.
The three types of land tenure involve native, state, and freehold land.
Native lands (82 percent of the total) are the property of the ethnic
Fijian community and consist of all land that was not sold to foreign
settlers before colonization. Over 30 percent of native land is classified
as "reserved" and can be rented only to ethnic Fijians and
"Fijian entities" such as churches and schools. After 1966,
Indo-Fijians were given thirty-year leases on their farmlands. The land
tenure system dictates not only who can work a plot of land but which
crops can be cultivated and what kind of settlement pattern can be
established. Fijians who live in villages engage in subsistence farming on
descent-group allotments, guided by traditional agricultural practices.

Commercial Activities.
Some subsistence farmers earn cash from the sale of copra, cocoa, kava,
manioc, pineapples, bananas, and fish. There are many Indo-Fijian and
Chinese, but many fewer ethnic Fijian, shopkeepers and small-scale
businessmen. The provision of tourist services also provides a living for
some members of all the ethnic groups.

Major Industries.
Most industrial production involves tourism, sugar, clothing, and gold
mining. In 1994, over three hundred thousand tourists and seventeen
thousand cruise ship passengers visited the islands. Most hotels are
situated on secluded beaches and offshore islands; individual thatched
tourist cabins are loosely modeled on village architecture. The largely
government-owned Fiji Sugar Corporation has a monopoly on sugar milling
and marketing. There is a rum distillery at Lautoka.

Trade.
The major export items are sugar, fish, gold, and garments. The main
export destinations are Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
Imports include mutton and goat meat from New Zealand and a wide-range of
consumer goods, principally of East Asian origin.

Division of Labor.
The majority of indigenous Fijians who live in rural areas are either
subsistence farmers and fishermen or small-scale cash croppers, while in
town they are largely in service-providing occupations, as unskilled,
semi-skilled, or skilled workers. Rural Indo-Fijians are mostly cane
farmers on leased land, while Indo-Fijians at the other end of the scale
largely dominate the manufacturing, distribution, commercial farming, and
service industries. Other non-ethnic Fijians and expatriates also have
some input in these sectors, but ethnic Fijians are minimally involved,
either as owners or entrepreneurs.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes.
Precolonial society was highly stratified, with two major groups: gentry
and commoners. Hereditary chiefs were distinguished by refined manners,
dignity, honor, and self-confidence. Chiefs had to be addressed in a
special "high language." In the nineteenth century, European
settlers brought Western ideas of social class, while Indian indentured
plantation laborers included people of many castes. The British colonial
administration established a social hierarchy generally informed by
nineteenth-century Western ideas about race and class. European people had
the highest status, but Fijians, especially their chiefs, were ranked
above Indo-Fijians who were tainted with the stigma of
"coolie" laborers. After independence, Fijian chiefs, allied
with foreign and local business interests and some wealthy Indians,
dominated the national polity.

Symbols of Social Stratification.
Capitalist penetration of the Fijian Islands over more than a hundred
years has produced some class stratification, especially in the urban
areas. There an elite that has numerous international contacts (both
within the Pacific Islands and far beyond) enjoys a material lifestyle
which, if not effusively affluent, certainly distinguishes its membership
from that of the urban proletariat in terms of housing, the employment

A Hindu temple in Nandi, Viti Levu. Hinduism is Fiji's second
largest faith.

Political Life

Government.
As a British crown colony from 1874 to 1970, Fiji had a dual system of
governance: one for the country as a whole, and the other exclusively for
the ethnic Fijian population. Although a British governor administered the
country and was the ultimate authority, British officials avoided
interfering in the affairs of the autonomous Fijian administration. The
colony had an executive council dominated by the governor and British
administrators and a legislative council that eventually included resident
European as well as Fijian legislators. The Indian population received the
right to vote in 1929, and Fijians (previously represented by their
chiefs) in 1963. The Fijian Affairs Board included an appointed Fijian
secretary of Fijian affairs, Fijian members of the legislative council,
and legal and financial advisers. The Council of Chiefs was established in
1876 to represent the interests of the chiefly class.

In the 1960s, the British prepared the country for independence by making
the government elective rather than appointed. In 1970, Fiji obtained
independence as a dominion within the British Commonwealth, and an
ethnically-based parliamentary democracy with an independent judiciary was
put in place. The House of Representatives had twenty-two seats reserved
for Fijians, twenty-two for Indo-Fijians, and eight for all the other
ethnic groups. The Senate was appointed by the Council of Chiefs, the
prime minister, the leader of the opposition, and the Council of Rotuma.

In 1987, two military coups overthrew Fiji's democratic
institutions, supposedly in the interests of the indigenous population.
Power was handed over to a civilian government, and the constitution of
1990 provided that the prime minister and president would always be ethnic
Fijians. In 1997, the constitution was revised to grant more power to the
other ethnic groups, ensure the separation of church and state, guarantee
equality before the law for all citizens, and encourage voting across
ethnic lines. The appointment of the majority of senators by the Council
of Chiefs was meant to safeguard the rights and privileges of the
indigenous peoples. In 1999, an Indian-led political party won the first
general election under the new constitution and an ethnic Indian became
the prime minister. This situation led to an attempted coup in the year
2000.

Leadership and Political Officials.
There are ethnically-based political parties as well as those that cross
ethnic divides. The Fijian Association, an ethnic Fijian party established
in 1956, formed the core of the Alliance Party, a coalition of
conservative ethnically-based political organizations. The Federation
Party grew out of conflict between Indo-Fijian cane farmers and foreign
agricultural interests that culminated in a sugar-cane farmers'
strike in 1960. In 1975, more radical Fijians split from the Alliance
Party to form the Fijian Nationalist Party, which recommended the
repatriation of all Indo-Fijians to India. In 1985, the labor movement
founded its own multi-ethnic Fijian Labour Party. In 1987, a multiethnic
socialist coalition was overthrown by the military. These parties have
continued to vie for election, although in 2000 the constitution of 1997
was abrogated as part of a military takeover after an attempted civilian
coup.

Social Problems and Control.
Violent crime, alcohol and drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, unwanted
pregnancy, and poor health are the major social problems. They have
increased in frequency and severity as a result of migration to urban
centers, where work is hard to find and traditional social restraints are
frequently absent, and due to the inability of the economy to provide an
adequate
standard of living. Theft and assault are the major crimes.

The high court, a court of appeals, and a supreme court constitute the
core of the justice system. The chief justice of the high court and some
other judges are appointed by the president. The Republic of Fiji Police
Force was established in 1874 as the Fijian Constabulary and now has two
thousand members, over half of whom are ethnic Fijians and 3 percent of
whom are female. It is responsible for internal security, drug control,
and the maintenance of law and order. The police force has been invited to
contribute to United Nations peacekeeping activities in Namibia, Iraq, the
Solomon Islands, and several other countries. There are prisons in Suva
and Naboro.

Military Activity.
The Republic of Fiji Military Forces was established to defend the
nation's territorial sovereignty. It is staffed almost exclusively
by ethnic Fijians, some of whom have received training in Australia, New
Zealand, and Great Britain. In the absence of exterior military threats,
this force has assumed some policing and civic duties as well as serving
abroad under the United Nations. It also fulfills a ceremonial function on
state occasions. Since 1987 the army has on three occasions for a limited
period of time assumed political control of the nation. A naval squadron
was formed in 1975 to protect the country's territorial waters and
marine economic zone. After the military coups of 1987, the size of the
armed forces was doubled.

Social Welfare and Change Programs

Traditionally, social welfare was the responsibility of religious and
private organizations rather than the government, but development plans
have consistently stressed the need for primary health care, drinkable
water, sanitary facilities, low-cost housing, and electricity for
low-income and rural families. Other programs include assistance to poor
families, the elderly, and the handicapped; rehabilitation of former
prisoners; social welfare training; and legal aid services. The Department
of Social Welfare runs a boys' center, a girls' home, and
three old-age homes.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations

Voluntary and religious organizations provide services ranging from
kindergartens for poor children to care for the blind, the handicapped,
and the cognitively disadvantaged. Christian organizations such as the
Salvation Army, YMCA, and Saint Vincent de Paul Society as well as Habitat
for Humanity run rehabilitation centers and help construct low-cost
housing. Hindu and Muslim religious organizations provide services to
their own communities. Secular organizations also help deal with the
country's social welfare needs.

Gender Roles and Statuses

Division of Labor by Gender.
Men associate primarily with other men, and women's activities are
performed mostly with other women. A woman's traditional role is to
be a homemaker, a mother, and an obedient wife. Men are the primary
breadwinners, although women also contribute to the family economy. Ethnic
Fijian women fish, collect shell-fish, weed gardens, and gather firewood;
men clear land for gardens, hunt, fish, build houses, and mow the grass
around the home and village. Among Indo-Fijians, men and women lead
largely separate lives. Women help in the cultivation of rice and sugar.

In 1996, the labor force was 76 percent male and 24 percent female, with
women working primarily in education and health. Eighty-two percent of
legislative and high civil service positions were held by men, along with
a similar proportion of executive jobs in the private sector.

The Relative Status of Women and Men.
The Fijian and Indo-Fijian societies are strongly patrifocal, and a woman
is formally subordinate to her husband in regard to decision making.
Unless a woman is of high rank, she has little influence in her village.
Although girls do better than boys in schools, fewer women than men
receive a higher education. Rising poverty levels have forced many women
into the lowest ranks of wage-earning jobs, and there has been an increase
in the number of female-headed households and an erosion of traditional
family values. Women are often victims of domestic violence and are
over-represented among the unemployed and the poor. Fijian women have made
greater advances than have Indo-Fijian women, often through the efforts of
the National Council of Women, which has a program that encourages greater
political involvement among women.

Marriage, Family, And Kinship

Marriage.
Among ethnic Fijians, marriages were traditionally arranged, with the
groom's father often selecting a bride from a subclan with which
his
family had a long-term relationship; ties between lineages and families
were strengthened in this manner. Today, although individuals choose their
spouses freely, marriage is still considered an alliance between groups
rather than individuals. When parental approval is refused, a couple may
elope. To avoid the shame of an irregular relationship, the
husband's parents must quickly offer their apologies and bring
gifts to the wife's family, who are obliged to accept them.
Marriage is no longer polygynous, but divorce and remarriage are common.
Intermarriage is rare with Indo-Fijians, but Fijians often marry
Europeans, Pacific islanders, and Chinese. Indo-Fijian marriages
traditionally were also parentally arranged. Religiously sanctioned
marriages are the norm, but civil registration has been required since
1928.

Domestic Unit.
Among ethnic Fijians,
leve ni vale
("people of the house") include family members who eat
together, share their economic resources, and have access to all parts of
the house. The domestic unit typically consists of the senior couple,
their unmarried children, and a married son with his wife and children and
may extend to include an aged widowed parent, a sister of the head of the
household, and grandchildren. Older people seldom live alone. Nuclear
families are becoming more common in urban areas. The male household head
controls the economic activity of the other males, and his wife supervises
the other women. Indo-Fijians in rural areas live mostly in scattered
homesteads rather than in villages. Their households tend now to comprise
a nuclear family rather than the traditional joint-family of the past.

Inheritance.
Among Fijians and Indo-Fijians, inheritance is largely patrilineal.
Traditionally, a man inherited the symbols, social status, and property
rights of his father's subclan, although men sometimes inherit from
the mother or wife's family as well. Today property other than
native land may be willed to anyone. National law dictates that a
surviving widow is entitled to a third of intestate property, with the
remaining two-thirds apportioned among the deceased's heirs,
including daughters.

Kin Groups.
For ethnic Fijians, interpersonal relationships and social behavior are
governed by links of kinship. Households affiliate with households with
which they share a male ancestor, forming an extended family group with
extensive social and economic interactions. These lineages combine to form
a patrilineal subclan (
mataqali
), which typically has exclusive claim to part of a village, where its
members locate their homes. A village may have several subclans, among
which the chiefly subclan dominates, receiving hereditary services from
the others. These subclans are exogamous, and the members refer to each
other by using kinship terms. Subclans come together to form clans (
yavusa
) that claim a common male ancestor, often from the distant past.
Indo-Fijians arrived too recently to have developed extrafamilial kin
groups similar to Indian castes. Kin-related activities involve actual or
fictive paternal and maternal relatives.

Socialization

Infant Care.
The Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities pamper infants, providing them
with every comfort and convenience and enveloping them in an atmosphere of
loving attention. Older people are particularly affectionate toward the
very young. As an infant grows, it is disciplined and socialized by both
parents but especially the mother, siblings, and other members of the
domestic unit.

Child Rearing and Education.
Among ethnic Fijians, a child's level of maturity is measured by
its capacity to experience shame and fear. Children learn to fear being
alone in the dark and to feel safe at home and in the village as opposed
to the forest. Mothers warn children that at night the souls of the recent
dead can snatch them away, and children are threatened with supernatural
misfortune in the form of ogres and devils. Children are given a great
deal of freedom but are expected to recognize shame related to bodily
functions and to being in the presence of social superiors. Children are
socialized between three and six years of age by being taught about their
role in the subclan and their familial inheritance.

Indo-Fijians traditionally have permitted their children much less freedom
but have now begun to adopt Western ideas about child raising. In
traditional homes, the relationship between father and son is formal and
reserved, but fathers are more affectionate toward their daughters, who
will leave the family after marriage. Mothers are extremely indulgent
toward their sons and strict with their daughters, whom they prepare for
the role of a daughter-in-law.

Public education is strongly influenced by Western prototypes and is
considered the route to economic, social, and political opportunities.
Schooling is not compulsory, but every child is guaranteed access to eight
years of primary and seven years of secondary education. Primary schools
are free, and secondary education is subsidized by the government. Most
schools are run by

A family inside their house in Shell Village, Fiji. Traditional
families might include unmarried children, married sons and their
families, an elderly widowed parent, and the sister of the head of
the household.

the local community and cater to a specific ethnic group. English becomes
the language of education after the fourth year.

Higher Education.
The government supports thirty-seven vocational and technical schools,
including the Fiji Institute of Technology, the School of Maritime
Studies, and the School of Hotel and Catering Services. Agricultural,
teacher training, medical, nursing, and theological colleges draw students
from other Pacific nations. Fiji makes the largest contribution to the
University of the South Pacific (USP), which was founded in 1968; its main
campus in Suva has over four thousand students, and there are another four
thousand external students. Half the faculty members are from the region,
with the remainder coming mostly from Western and South Asian countries.

Etiquette

Ethnic Fijians have informal personal relationships but also follow a
tradition of ritual formality in a hierarchical society. In rural areas,
people do not pass others without saying a word of greeting; the gentry
receive a special form of greeting. In villages, the central area is where
the chiefly lineage lives and people must show respect by not wearing
scanty dress, hats, sunglasses, garlands, or shoulder bags, and by not
speaking or laughing boisterously.

Footwear is removed before one enters a house. Guests are expected to
hesitate before entering a house and to seat themselves near the door
until invited to proceed further. A complex system of gift giving and
receiving has existed for centuries. Sperm whale teeth (
tabua
) are the most precious items of exchange and are given at marriages,
funerals and other important ritual occasions. Formal and lengthy speeches
accompany the presentation of a whale's tooth. Guests are given
kava to drink to promote solidarity between kin, friends, and
acquaintances.

Among Indo-Fijians, domestic norms are determined by gender and age,
although etiquette is less formal. Sons treat their fathers with great
respect, and younger brothers defer to older brothers. Females are
socially segregated, but urban living has eroded this practice.

Religion

Religious Beliefs.
The population is 53 percent Christian, 38 percent Hindu, and 8 percent
Muslim, with small groups of Sikhs and people who profess no religion. The
pre-Christian religion of the Fijians
was both animistic and polytheistic, and included a cult of chiefly
ancestors. There was belief in a life after death. Souls of the departed
were thought both to travel to a land of the dead and at the same time to
remain close to their graves. Modern Christian Fijians still fear their
spirit ancestors.

Christianity was brought to the islands in the 1830s primarily by
Methodist missionaries. Other denominations became active after World War
II, and fundamentalist and evangelical sects have grown in membership over
the last two decades.

Indo-Fijian Hindus follow a variety of religious customs brought by their
forebears from India and are divided between the reformed and the
orthodox. The religious practices of Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs inherited
from India are characterized by fasts, feasts, and festivals as well as
prescribed rituals that cover major life events.

Religious Practitioners.
Priests of the traditional Fijian religion were intermediaries between
gods and men. Today, Protestant ministers, Catholic priests, and lay
preachers are the dominant religious leaders of the Fijians. In the
Indo-Fijian community, religious scholars, holy men, and temple priests
are the most important religious practitioners.

Rituals and Holy Places.
In the pre-Christian Fijian religion, every village had a temple where
people made gifts to the gods through a priestly oracle. In the nineteenth
century, those temples were torn down and replaced with Christian
churches, which became showpieces of village architecture. Indo-Fijian
Hinduism relies on stories, songs, and rituals to teach its precepts.
Ritualized readings of the Ramayana and worship before divine images at
home or in a temple are important aspects of religious life. Annual
ceremonies are sponsored by many temples.

Death and the Afterlife.
Death evokes strong emotional and elaborate ritual responses in both
Fijian and Indo-Fijian communities. But here the similarities end. Ethnic
Fijians, almost entirely Christian, have integrated church-focused
Christian practices and beliefs with their traditional funerary customs of
gift-giving, feasting, kava drinking, and observance of mourning
restrictions. Favoring burial over cremation, they also erect elaborate
and colorful cloth decorations over their graves. Although Christian ideas
of heaven and hell are thoroughly integrated into the Fijians'
present-day belief system, old beliefs in the power of ancestral spirits
still linger on. Among Indo-Fijians, Hindus may cremate their dead, though
this is not the norm, as it is in India; Muslims insist on burial. These
two religions offer very different visions of life after death: Hindus
assume that the deceased's soul will be reborn and Muslims are
confident that the true believer will be rewarded with eternal life in
paradise.

Medicine and Health Care

Ethnic Fijians often attribute sickness to supernatural entities in their
pre-Christian belief system. Illnesses that are ascribed to natural causes
are treated with Western medicine and medical practices, but illnesses
that are thought to result from sorcery are treated by traditional
healers, including seers, diviners, massage masters, and herbalists.
Healing occurs in a ritual context as the forces of good battle those of
evil. Muslims and Hindus also turn to religious leaders to request divine
intervention in the case of illness.

Government-provided biomedical services are available at several
hospitals, health centers, and nursing stations. The Fiji School of
Medicine is affiliated with the University of the South Pacific, and there
is a Fiji School of Nursing and specialist hospitals in Suva for the
treatment of leprosy, psychological disorders, and tuberculosis. Treatment
is not free but is heavily subsidized by the government.
Government-subsidized contraception is available throughout the islands as
part of the family planning program.

Secular Celebrations

National holidays include major Christian, Hindu, and Muslim holy days:
Christmas, Easter, the Hindus' Divali, and the prophet
Mohammed's birthday. Purely secular festivals include Ratu Sakuna
Day, which honors the man whom many regard as the founder of modern Fiji;
Constitution Day; and Fiji Day. None of these holidays provokes intense
patriotic fervor.

The Arts and Humanities

Support for the Arts.
The Fiji Arts Council, the Fiji Museum, and the National Trust are the
chief government-backed sponsors of the arts. Most funding for the arts
comes from the tourist industry and from galleries and studios, along with
aid from foreign governments. The USP's Oceania Center for Arts and
Culture, founded in 1997, sponsors workshops and holds exhibitions of
paintings and sculpture as well as music and dance performances and poetry
readings.

Literature.
The Fijian tradition of storytelling around the kava bowl has been
maintained, as have recitations of the Ramayana in Hindu homes and
temples. There is a small community of writers, many of them associated
with the USP. Traditional legends and modern social analysis are common
themes in Fijian literature, whereas Indo-Fijian literary works tend to
concentrate on injustices during the period of indentured servitude.

Graphic Arts.
Almost every Fijian girl learns the art of weaving baskets and mats for
home and ceremonial use. The production of bark cloth is another
traditional female skill; the cloth, which is used as traditional clothing
and is still important in Fijian ceremonies, is now also sold to tourists
in the form of wall hangings and handbags. War clubs, spears, decorated
hooks, kava bowls, and "cannibal forks" are carved by men
almost entirely for tourist consumption. Pottery is made by women.

Performance Arts.
The traditional dance theater (
meke
) combines singing, chanting, drumming, and stylized movements of the
upper body to recreate stories, myths, and legends. Village-based, it is
performed on special occasions such as the visit of a chief, a life-cycle
event, or a ceremonial gift exchange. The Dance Theater of Fiji now
choreographs these performances for modern audiences. Indo-Fijian and
Chinese dances have been preserved and are taught in those communities.
Ethnic Fijian choral singing is performed both during religious services
and for secular entertainment; almost every village church has a choir.
Western popular music is played live and on the radio. Among Indo-Fijians
too, both secular and sacred music has maintained its popularity.

The State of the Physical and Social Sciences

Social science education and research are centered in the University of
the South Pacific's School of Social and Economic Development and
the associated South Pacific Social Sciences Association. The Institute of
Pacific Studies publishes academic works in sociology, ethnology,
religion, culture, and literature. The Institute of Fijian Language and
Culture, which was founded in 1987, has been working to produce a Fijian
dictionary; it also produces radio and television programs.

Bibliography

Arno, Andrew.
The World of Talk on a Fijian Island: An Ethnography of Law and
Communicative Causation,
1993.

User Contributions:

This is more a question. I am interested in knowing more about common daily work life in a Fijian Village. We are very interested in leaving all of our American ammenities behind to pursue true happiness in a non materialistic form of life as we have researched and found Fiji is prone to. We have lived the American life and have found that is based more upon material gain and revenue than simple living and living self sufficiently. We are planning a trip for further research on Fiji, any information regarding daily chores of Fijian life would be very much appreciated, please contact us at your earliest convenience. Thank you. Paul and Amanda

Thank you so much for the lovely informations you provided, Im doing this project about Fiji and this really helps me alot. Wow..I didn't know most of the things, but the way you present it is really amazing.Once again Thank you.

Yeah dis is pretty cool especially learning more about our culture and i personally believe that we should all be proud of it and never let loose as this is a very important aspect of our life.I love dis and am also interested in the T abua and how it is essential to our culture.
Fijians I challenge you all to rediscover this very unique and special nation.(I LOVE FIJI)

READING THIS HAS MADE ME REALIZE HOW PROUD I AM TO BE A PACIFIC ISLANDER ESPECIALLY FROM FIJI.I NOW RESIDE IN SEATTLE (USA) AND I HAVE BEEN HERE FOR TWO YEARS NOW.I WAS BORN IN THE CITY OF SUVA AND LET ME TELL YOU,CULTURE AND TRADITION WAS NEVER MY THING. HAVING BEING HERE FOR THIS LONG HAS MADE ME MISS MY HOME SO MUCH AND THE SIMPLICITY OF IT ALL.I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE WHO HAS WRITTEN ABOUT FIJI ON VARIOUS TOPICS AND ME PERSONALLY AM VERY BLESSED TO COME FROM A CULTURE THAT STANDS ALONE,BEAUTIFUL IN ITS UNIQUENESS.

It seems you have not mentioned the Hindu - Christian divide here. I hear it is quite bad and that Fiji is one of the countries in the world to divide people on the basis of their religion and their race!
Is this true?
Do Ethnic Fijians hate Indo - Fijians?
Does that mean they hate Indians too?

I think that the information of this page is very useful...but if more could
be added to it like info on some of our oldest plants. If pictures could be added
just so that we can understand what the info is all about.

My daughter cam back from a service trip to Fiji and reported that they drove through some neighborhoods that had homes with red flags posted to indicate that they were Indians living there - I know there are stigmas related to the indian inhabitants on Fiji but can you tell me what the red flags signify?

Reply to Susan (no 29). The red flags are called Jhands (the Hindi word for flags). They usually have either the image of the Hindu God Hanuman or Durga. The most common is Hanuman, who is found in the Ramayan - the most important text for Sanatani Hindus - ie the majority of Hindus in Fiji.

Each year many Hindu families perform a puja or prayer which is dedicated to the god Hanuman (the god of protection). The puja provides protection for the family and for the property. Whilst this puja has been performed for many years in Fiji, it has been suggested that it has taken on an added dimension in the post coup (1987+) period when Hindu homes and temples have been attacked. However in recent years the number of attacks have declined and relationships between Indians and ethnic Fijians seem to be improving (though it must be noted that the relationships have tended to be good throughout most of Fiji whilst historically the tensions have been confined to the capital, Suva and its environs).

Thank you very much for this lovely arrticle. I'm so proud to identify myself as a Fijian, eventhough my paternal family are I'Taukei and my maternal family is very much a rainbow one.! i grew up in a family that held family love and respect for all people and no discrimination, yet as a teenager i felt insulted to hear people pass stereotypical comment at people of other ethnicity. Because my father was indigenous according to the VKB i had more opportunity and rights than another whose mother is idigedous and father of other ethnicity, this i thought was really pointless, so i decided to ask my parents not include me in the VKB! and i'm proud of my decision unless and until something is done about it to include all Fijians, espeecially if you are fiji born despite ethnicity or a Fiji passport holder, than and only than will i do otherwise.

This is awesome information, it is very informative. To learn more about the culture and also the languages you will have to contact the experts in Fiji using the net such as the itaukei affairs which has a department called the itaukei language and culture and also the experts in a regional university located in Fiji called the University of the South Pacific, especially a man named Paula Qereti as he is well known by. If you really want to learn more about it come to FIJI!!! Enjoy the scenery, the culture and the Fijian Hospitality!. Till we meet again, GOD BLESS FROM FIJI.

There is not much different as they eat food and wear clothes as we do. The food they eat is mostly fresh from the farm and from the sea.So they have better and very nutrituos food that had help them to be strong and healthy.

Nice game on Saturday. I felt happy because I think this is the first time you guys took the Cup. Good job Boys. Keep it up ! And this are all of you guys information's are awesome. It makes people interested and wanted to visit Fiji next time !

HISTORY OF SPORTS IN FIJI WHEN IT STARTED AND DEVELOPED
FIRST MALE AND FEMALE ATHLETE
DEVELOPMENT OF WOMEN SPORTS IN OUR PART OF THE REGION
MENS ATTITUDES TOWARDS WOMEN IN SPORTS
ORGANIZATIONS GOAL FOR WOMEN

Thank you so so so so much!!! I don't know what I would've done without your site. I only started my assignment two days before it's due date, and I definately would not have gotten it finished in time if I hadn't come across your site. The info is extremely useful for what I need!
Thanks :D

this is a good article and it really helped me with this project my evil teacher gave me, i sware she has no life but to sit around grading papers! but your website covered over it well and i appreciate how much work you put into it!

Interesting and helpful reading this article which really help me doing my project but wish there was more info on what they actually built their houses with before colonisation.Anyway good job well done boys.
Thanx alot
Lessy

Well, written article and informative. I just wanted to add that in North Eastern Vanua Levu (and some other parts of Fiji) the people were not patrilineal and titles were often given to chiefly women. Women had great political influence and traditionally men could not become cheifs without a mother from a chiefly family. In one place in particular in Vanua Levu, only a woman can hold a chiefly title. In 1912 an observer recorded that my mother's people were matrilineal.

I have heard that in some countries when craftsmen carve their wooden handicrafts they select a nice piece if wood before taking it to a spirit house and receiving a blessing on that wood before doing their carvings in the belief that they will be prosperous. Is Fiji similar to this? When the craftsmen carve wooden items such as the Tanoa are their any rituals involved?

To Vanessa: Not sure about history, but its not the case. There are special wood that are used for certain kind of handicraft. This is the same case for the tanoa, you cannot just pick any wood to carve a tanoa.

oh hi again I just finished my report on Fiji and I just wanted to say again that this is one of the MOST HELPFUL CITE EVER!! also if you would want more info go to cia world factbook and I love this information very clever and very helpful thank you guys so much bye! :)

WHILE RESEARCHING INFORMATION ABOUT MY OWN FIJIAN BELIEFS , I COME ACROSS WHICH REALLY HELPS ME A LOT AND A RECOMENT THIS TO TERTIARY STUDENTS AND SECONDARY STUDENTS TO READ THIS ARTICLE SO IT CAN GIVE THEM A FAIR IDEA OF WHAT FIJIANS BELIEVE IN DURING THE PAST AND NOW THE FUTURE.

We need to preserve and value our culture otherwise we are going to loose everything. With the effects of globalization and climate change that we are facing right now, it has impacted on our culture in the form of economic development, social development and many more. It's a great challenges to all of us Fijians otherwise we are going to be like the "Maori" in New Zealand, the "Torra- Strait" in Australia of loosing everything that belongs to them e.g land, "i qoliqoli", and their identity as a whole..